KR20060124314A - Bevel etching process apparatus with multi-paths for fume exhaust - Google Patents

Abstract

Bevel etching equipment with multi fume-exhausting paths is provided to embody a plurality of fume-exhausting paths and more smoothly exhaust fume by symmetrically installing a plurality of exhausting holes for exhausting fume to the outside of a housing in a bevel etching process. A spin chamber(210) whose upper part is open is installed in a housing(250). A wafer support part supports a wafer, installed in the spin chamber. A bevel head(400) is correspondingly introduced to the upper surface of the wafer. A nozzle injects a chemical solution to the edge region of the wafer, installed in the lateral part of the bevel head. A hepa filter filters atmospheric gas introduced into the housing, installed in the upper part of the housing. A plurality of exhaust holes(710,750) are symmetrically installed in the housing with respect to the spin chamber so as to exhaust the fume generated in the spin chamber and the housing to the outside by a flow of the atmospheric gas. Two of the exhaust holes are installed in symmetrical lateral surfaces of the housing with respect to the spin chamber.

Description

Bevel etching process apparatus with multi-paths for fume exhaust

1 is a view schematically illustrating a conventional bevel etching process equipment.

2 and 3 are schematic front and plan views, respectively, to illustrate multiple passages for fume exhaust of a bevel etching process apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to semiconductor device manufacturing equipment, and more particularly, to a bevel etching process equipment capable of smoothly discharging fumes generated during a bevel etching process.

The bevel etching process used to manufacture the semiconductor device may be understood as one of the cleaning processes used to manufacture the semiconductor device. The bevel etching process is performed by, for example, spin coating of a material film on a wafer, and then a partial region of the coated material film part on an edge of the wafer, that is, an inner side from the edge of the wafer. It can be understood as a process for selectively removing a certain area of the furnace. This bevel etching process may be performed after applying a photoresist on the wafer.

The bevel etching process is performed by including the bevel etching as a main process step, and is carried out in the bevel etching process equipment configured to be further performed before and after the bevel etching step, respectively.

1 is a view schematically illustrating a conventional bevel etching process equipment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a device for a conventional bevel etching process includes a spin chamber 21 installed inside a wafer 10 on which a film of material such as photoresist is coated on a mirror surface, and a spin chamber. The wafer support 30 or the chuck (21) includes an outer housing (25) installed therein and includes support pins (31) for supporting the wafer (10) inside the spin chamber (21). The chuck may be installed, and may include a bevel head 40 installed to be introduced above the spin chamber 21 opposite to the mounted wafer 10.

At this time, the side of the bevel head 40, a chemical liquid supply nozzle for supplying an etching liquid diluted 2: 1 in the deionized water, for example, chemical liquid for bevel etching treatment (41) ) Can be installed. In the configuration of the bevel head 40 and the chemical liquid supply nozzle 41, an etching process is not performed on a portion other than the edge of the wafer 10 during the bevel etching process, and is selectively etched only on the edge portion of the wafer 10. Configured to allow processing to be performed.

The head support 43 for supporting the bevel head 40 is provided outside the spin chamber 21 on the inner side. The bevel head 40 may further include a gas suppling line 45 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas N ₂ to the center portion of the wafer 10.

On the other hand, the wafer support 30 for supporting the wafer 10 may be separated from each other in processing such as bevel processing, rinsing processing, and / or cleaning liquid processing such as LAL500, etc., which are performed in the spin chamber 21 in the equipment. The height can be moved to vary. For example, the wafer support part 30 is raised to the highest position during the rinsing process, the wafer support part 30 is moved to the intermediate height during the beveling process, and the wafer support part (at the lowest height during the process using the LAL 500 or the like). 30) is moved. A pure water supply nozzle 50 for supplying pure water used for rinsing treatment or the like is also introduced on the wafer 10.

When the bevel treatment is performed using such a bevel etching process equipment, a rinse treatment and / or a cleaning treatment using an LAL 500 cleaning liquid or an etching liquid may be continuously performed. Accordingly, the spin chamber 21 may be provided with discharge passages (not shown) for discharging these different cleaning liquids, pure water, or chemical liquids.

On the other hand, when such a bevel etching process is performed, at the time of beveling or in other processing steps, a cleaning liquid and / or various chemical liquids are used, so that the fume of the chemical component in the use of such cleaning liquid and / or chemical liquid ) Is generated. Since the fume is harmful to the film quality on the wafer 10, it is preferable that the fume is smoothly exhausted to the outside of the housing 25.

A hepa filter 60 is introduced above the housing 25 to exhaust the fume, and a flow 80 of the airflow from the upper side to the lower side is generated through the hepa filter 60. The flow of air flow 80 is a flow of air flow including an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, and serves to induce fumes generated inside the housing 25 to the exhaust port 70 provided at one end of the housing 25. Do it.

The flow of fume 90 by the flow of air 80 is preferably formed to be smoothly exhausted to the exhaust port 70 without being flowed back onto the wafer 10. However, in the conventional bevel etching process equipment, such an exhaust port 70 is provided only at one side of the housing 25. Therefore, the exhaust flow may not be formed uniformly and smoothly. That is, a smooth air stream 80 and thus a smooth fume stream 90 may be formed adjacent to the exhaust port 70, but at a position relatively far from the exhaust port 70 such as the opposite side of the exhaust port 70, it is uneven. An airflow stream 81 which flows back from one bottom to the top may be generated, thus generating a flow 91 of backflowed fume.

The backflow of fume 91 may act to cause the fume to drop on the wafer 10, and the fume dropped and adsorbed on the wafer 10 may cause intrusion into the film quality on the wafer 10. This can act as a factor for generating a film quality defect. Therefore, in order to prevent film quality defects on the wafer 10 by the fume in the bevel etching process, it is required to form a more smooth air flow in the housing 25.

An object of the present invention is to propose a configuration of a bevel etching process equipment capable of forming a more smooth air flow in the housing in order to prevent film defects on the wafer due to chemical fume in the bevel etching process.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem is a housing (housing), a spin chamber (top side) is installed in the housing is open, a wafer support is installed in the spin chamber to support the wafer, on the wafer A bevel head introduced in correspondence to the bevel head, a nozzle disposed at the bevel head side to inject a chemical solution into an edge region of the wafer, and an atmospheric gas installed at the upper side of the housing to flow into the housing. A hepa filter for filtering, and fumes generated in the spin chamber and the housing are installed in the housing to discharge to the outside by the flow of the atmospheric gas, and are symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber. A bevel etching process apparatus is provided that includes a plurality of vents that are typically installed.

Any two of the exhaust ports may be installed at side portions of the housing that are symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber. Alternatively, any two of the exhaust ports may be installed at bottom portions of the housing that are symmetrical with each other about the spin chamber.

Alternatively, any two first exhaust ports of the exhaust ports are respectively provided at side portions of the housing which are mutually symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber, and any other two second exhaust ports of the exhaust ports are provided with respect to the first exhaust port. Installed in a vertical direction but may be installed symmetrically to each other.

According to the present invention, a plurality of exhaust ports are provided so that the bottom and side surfaces of the housing of the bevel etching process equipment are balanced, so that a plurality of exhaust passages of the fume can be formed, so that a backflow occurs in the flow of the fume when the fume is exhausted. Bevel etching process equipment can be proposed to prevent the build-up and to facilitate the evacuation of the fume.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the invention are preferably to be interpreted as being provided to those skilled in the art to more fully describe the invention.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of exhaust passages for exhausting the fumes generated when the bevel etching process is performed in the equipment in which the bevel etching process is performed are provided in a balanced manner so that the exhaust of the fume is smoothly made and the backflow of the fume is performed. To prevent defects on the wafer. A plurality of exhaust ports for exhausting the fume are installed on the bottom and side of the housing which is installed outside the spin chamber where the wafer support on which the wafer is mounted is installed. A plurality of such exhaust ports may be installed symmetrically about the spin chamber.

As the plurality of exhaust ports are installed in the housing, the flow of the atmospheric gas provided through the HEPA filter, for example, the air flow of the atmospheric gas flowing from the upper side to the lower side of the housing, can be stably formed to be smoothly disposed toward the exhaust ports respectively disposed. This prevents the generation of unstable vortices and the like in the air flow, and also stabilizes the exhaust flow of the fume exhausted by the air flow. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the backflow from occurring in the flow of the fume. Accordingly, the fume is dropped and adsorbed onto the wafer due to the backflow of the fume, thereby effectively preventing the fume intrusion or defects, etc. from occurring in the film quality on the wafer. You can prevent it.

2 and 3 are schematic front and plan views, respectively, to illustrate multiple passages for fume exhaust of a bevel etching process apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, the equipment for the bevel etching process according to an embodiment of the present invention, by installing a plurality of exhaust ports (710, 750) for the exhaust of the fume in the housing 250, the smoothness of the fume Induce exhaust flow to form. The spin chamber 210 is installed in the housing 250, and in the spin chamber 210, a wafer 100 coated with a material film such as a photoresist on a mirror surface is mounted.

The exhaust ports 710 and 750 may be installed at positions symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber 210. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, two first exhaust holes 710 may be installed at two opposite sides of the housing 250. In addition, the second exhaust holes 750 may be installed in a direction perpendicular to the first exhaust holes 710. The second exhaust holes 750 may be installed on the bottom of the housing 250 which is symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber 210.

As the exhaust ports 710 and 750 are symmetrically installed in all directions around the spin chamber 210 where the bevel etching process is substantially performed, the exhaust flow of the airflow is smoothly formed into the exhaust ports 710 and 750. Can be effectively prevented from creating a backflow of exhaust airflow toward the spin chamber 210. In the related art, as one exhaust port 70 is installed at one end of the housing (25 in FIG. 1), the exhaust air flow is not smooth, and backflow occurs. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the spin chamber 210 is used. By installing a plurality of exhaust ports 710 and 750 at symmetrically centered positions, it is possible to effectively prevent backflow from occurring in the exhaust flow.

In the spin chamber 210, in order to perform the bevel etching process of the wafer 100, a wafer support 300 or a chuck supporting the wafer 100 may be provided with a support pin 301. The wafer support 300 may be spin rotated during the bevel etching process. In addition, a bevel head 400 is installed above the spin chamber 210 facing the mounted wafer 100, and the bevel head 400 includes an etching liquid or a cleaning liquid for bevel etching at the edge of the wafer 100. A chemical liquid supply nozzle 410 for ejecting the same chemical liquid is installed.

The bevel head 400 is a counterpart of the wafer 100 to prevent a chemical solution for bevel etching, for example, an etchant in which hydrofluoric acid (HF) is diluted 2: 1 in pure water (DIW) is not provided to the center portion of the wafer 100. Can be formed into a cylindrical shape. The bevel head 400 may include a gas supply line 450 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas onto the wafer 100, and may also provide a rinse or cleaning liquid such as pure water on the wafer 100. It may further include a pure water supply line 470 for supplying. The gas supply line 450 or / and the pure water supply line 470 may be installed such that its supply end is located at the center of the corresponding surface of the wafer 100 of the bevel head 400.

The bevel head 400 is supported to be introduced onto the cylindrical spin chamber 210 whose top side is opened by the head support 430. The head support 430 is installed at the bottom of the housing 250 outside the spin chamber 210.

On the other hand, the wafer support 300 for supporting the wafer 100 are each separated from each other in processing such as bevel processing, rinsing processing, and / or cleaning liquid processing such as LAL500, etc., which are performed in the spin chamber 210 in the equipment. Its height can be moved to vary. For example, the wafer support part 300 is raised to the highest position during the rinsing process, the wafer support part 300 is moved to the middle height during the beveling process, and the wafer support part ( 300 may be moved.

In addition, a pure water supply nozzle 500 for supplying pure water used for rinsing treatment or the like may also be installed to be introduced onto the wafer 100. This bevel etching process equipment can be configured in a series of four chambers, so that four wafers can be processed at a time.

When the bevel treatment is performed using such a bevel etching process equipment, a rinse treatment and / or a cleaning treatment using an LAL 500 cleaning liquid or an etching liquid may be continuously performed. Accordingly, the spin chamber 210 may be provided with discharge passages (not shown) for discharging these different cleaning liquids, pure water, and chemical liquids, respectively.

On the other hand, when such a bevel etching process is performed, at the time of beveling or in another processing step, as the cleaning liquid and / or various chemical liquids are used, the fume of the chemical component is generated when the cleaning liquid and / or chemical liquid is used. do. Since the fume is harmful to the film quality on the wafer 100, it is preferable that the fume is smoothly exhausted out of the housing 250.

In order to smoothly discharge the fume, a hepa filter 600 is introduced above the housing 250, and a flow 800 of airflow from the upper side to the lower side is generated through the hepa filter 600. This flow of air 800 is a flow of air including an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, so that the fumes generated inside the housing 250 flow to a plurality of exhaust ports 710 and 750 installed in the housing 250. Induces a role

At this time, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the plurality of exhaust ports 710 and 750 are installed symmetrically with each other, the air flow stream 800 may be formed as a smooth flow toward these exhaust ports 710 and 750. Since a plurality of exhaust ports 710 and 750 are installed symmetrically with respect to the spin chamber 210 as shown in FIG. 3, the flow of air flow 800 causes the backflow into the spin chamber 210. This can be effectively prevented and formed smoothly. Accordingly, the exhaust stream 900 of the fume due to the flow 800 of the air stream can also be made smoothly.

For example, the first air flow 801 to the first exhaust port 710 on the left side of FIG. 2 is a first flow 901 of the fume flowing into the first exhaust port 710 on the left side of the fume generated in the spin chamber 210. ) May be formed. In addition, on the opposite side of the spin chamber 210, a second air flow 803 to the first exhaust port 710 on the right side is smoothly formed, and the second air flow 803 occurs inside the spin chamber 210. The fume may be induced to form a second flow 903 of the fume flowing to the first exhaust port 710 on the left side.

Similarly, since the second exhaust holes 750 shown in FIG. 3 are also symmetrically disposed about the spin chamber 210, smooth air flows are formed in respective regions, and thus, for smooth exhaust of the fume, The flow is formed. Therefore, unlike the conventional case as shown in FIG. 1, the occurrence of backflow in the flow of the fume can be effectively prevented.

The flow of backflowed fume may act to cause the fume to drop on the wafer, and the fume adsorbed onto the wafer may cause an impairment of the film quality on the wafer, thereby causing a film defect. Can be. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of exhaust ports 710 and 750 are installed symmetrically with each other, thereby effectively preventing the back flow of the fume. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of defects in the film quality on the wafer due to the backflow of the fume.

According to the present invention described above, when the bevel etching process is performed by a plurality of mutually symmetrically installed in the housing for the exhaust port for the exhaust to the outside of the housing, it is possible to implement a plurality of the exhaust passage of the fume. Accordingly, the fume can be more smoothly discharged, and the fume can be discharged in a balanced or uniform manner throughout the housing. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the backflow from occurring in the exhaust flow of the fume, thereby effectively preventing the occurrence of defects on the wafer due to the backflow of the fume.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in detail through the specific Example, this invention is not limited to this, It is clear that the deformation | transformation and improvement are possible by the person of ordinary skill in the art within the technical idea of this invention.

Claims (4)

A housing; An upper spin chamber installed in the housing; A wafer support installed in the spin chamber to support a wafer; A bevel head correspondingly introduced onto the wafer; A nozzle installed at the bevel head side to inject a chemical solution into an edge region of the wafer; A hepa filter installed above the housing and filtering an atmospheric gas flowing into the housing; And And a plurality of exhaust ports installed in the housing for discharging fumes generated in the spin chamber and the housing to the outside by the flow of the atmospheric gas, and symmetrically installed with respect to the spin chamber. Bevel etching process equipment, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, Bevel etching process equipment, characterized in that any two of the exhaust vents are respectively installed in the side portion of the housing symmetrical with each other about the spin chamber. The method of claim 1, Bevel etching equipment, characterized in that any two of the exhaust vents are respectively installed on the bottom portion of the housing symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber. The method of claim 1, Any two first exhaust ports of the exhaust ports are respectively provided at side portions of the housing which are symmetrical with respect to the spin chamber. Bevel etching process equipment, characterized in that any other two second exhaust port of the exhaust ports are installed in a direction perpendicular to the first exhaust port, but are installed symmetrically with each other.

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